SUMTER, S.C., Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA) continues to remain ahead of schedule as 2012 draws to a close. Construction began June 15 following the groundbreaking ceremony in March, 2012.

The first employee, a civil engineer, was hired in April 2012. Since that time, CTA has recruited for more than 50 positions at the Sumter plant.

"This year we focused on hiring key members of our management team and a variety of engineers," said Craig Baartman, Sumter plant manager, whose position was announced in August. "We plan to have our complete management team on board in 2013."

In addition, CTA hired 18 multi-craft technician employees this year. Each will spend approximately 12 weeks training at a Continental tire plant in Illinois, Germany, Portugal, France or Mexico to prepare them for their job in Sumter.

In 2013, CTA will continue its partnership with readySC and Central Carolina Technical College to assist with staffing and training interested candidates. Through this partnership, CTA plans to recruit approximately 300 positions next year, including department managers and supervisors, functional support such as finance and IT, and production and technician positions. Current job postings can be viewed at www.readySC.org/Conti.

The site, located off of U.S. Highway 521 in Sumter, South Carolina, sits on nearly 330 acres and will soon be a 1 million-square-foot production facility.

The general contractor for the site, Michigan and South Carolina-based Walbridge/Mashburn, has made significant progress on key areas of the plant including the mixing, tire building, stock preparation, curing, final finish and warehouse areas. The construction process for the plant is expected to be finished by the end of 2013, with production beginning in late 2013 or early 2014.

In the first phase, the plant will reach a production capacity of more than four million units per year in 2017. A second phase is expected to bring the plant's full production capacity to approximately eight million units per year by 2021. Altogether, CTA will invest more than $500 million into the Sumter plant and will manufacture passenger and light truck tires to meet the increasing demand for Continental and General brand tires from both aftermarket business and automotive manufacturers. Nearly 1,600 jobs will be created as a result of this investment.

About Continental CorporationWith sales of €30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has approximately 170,000 employees in 46 countries.

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